Being "green" is all the rage these days.
Daz, Vinay, Chloe and I attended Live Green at Victoria Park yesterday. It was a festival held by the City of Sydney Council to promote a "green" lifestyle: buying organic, local produce, purchasing environmentally-friendly products and supporting environmentally- and socially-responsible businesses.
However, I left the festival with a bitter taste in my mouth. Is it enough to just buy green? Are we going far enough and quickly enough on the journey to sustainability to have the necessary impact? That certainly seemed to be the message of the festival:
If "living green" means buying organic produce and environmentally-friendly products, are we actually going to reach the point where society is considered "sustainable"? I think not. While buying green is great, we need much more - we need a change in mindset.
The festival organisers tried to achieve this through seminars and workshops during the day. However, these tents were located on the fringes of the site, and not promoted effectively. Consequently, a vast majority of attendees came for the food and products, only skimming the surface of what is to be "sustainable".
It would have been better to see large-scale engagement of the attendees on what it means to be sustainable, why it is important and how they can be more sustainable in every aspect of their life - at home, at work, in the community. If enough people are aware and engaged with these issues, then we will see the needed large-scale change in society.
